Barry Haase (Kalgoorlie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Education, Science and Training. What is the government doing to increase education and training opportunities for Indigenous Australians in rural and remote areas?

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Kalgoorlie for his question. All Australians want to see the gap in educational outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students closed. All Australians know that education is the key to greater opportunities for Indigenous Australians and for economic independence. There have been some improvements in education and training outcomes—for example, over the last 10 years the attendance rate of Indigenous students at school has increased by some 50 per cent. There have been increases in the number of Indigenous students in training, in trades and in higher education. But we all acknowledge that more must be done, and in this year’s budget the Australian government focused on programs that are proving to work, that are showing that that educational divide can be closed. In particular, there will now be 1,000 scholarships for Indigenous students who have been identified as young leaders within their community and who will have the opportunity to further their education in regional and metropolitan areas. There is an additional $4,000 that will be paid to Indigenous students wanting to undertake higher education. There are improvements to Abstudy, and there is a $65 million investment in boarding schools in rural and remote Australia that accommodate Indigenous students. All told, this year we will invest some $600 million in Indigenous-specific education programs.

We of course welcome any constructive or genuine contribution to this policy debate. So when Labor produced a document this week called New Directions I thought that there would be some new policy ideas, some well thought out policies and some fresh thinking—after all, that is how they marketed it. But there was something eerily familiar about New Directions: Indigenous Children, so I did a little research and of course I found Australian Directions in Indigenous Education. This was a document that was prepared, published and endorsed by federal, state and territory education ministers last July. This policy document is already in place.

What the Labor Party have done with New Directions: Indigenous Children is just take Australian Directions in Indigenous Education and put a Labor wrap on it. This is not the first time that they have done it—just put a new wrap on it and change a couple of words. Let me take you to—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The minister has the call. The minister will be heard.

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australian Directions calls for and has endorsed personalised learning plans for every Indigenous student. New Directions calls for individualised learning plans for every Indigenous student.

Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ms Roxon interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Gellibrand is warned!

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australian Directions has already endorsed the national literacy benchmarks for personalised learning plans.

Rod Sawford (Port Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Sawford interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

So is the member for Port Adelaide.

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

New Directions has called for national literacy and numeracy testing for individualised learning plans. Australian Directions has endorsed universal access for early childhood education for Indigenous Australians. New Directions calls for a universal right to access early childhood education. What we see here is Labor taking other people’s policies, wrapping the ALP banner around them and calling it fresh thinking. Remember the early childhood policy taken straight from the COAG papers? Remember Labor’s national curriculum taken straight from the government’s policy? Remember the new retention rate policy announced in the budget in reply taken straight from noodle nation? Even the name of their so-called education policy—the education revolution—was taken straight from Mark Latham. The Labor Party are policy frauds. There is no fresh thinking and, what is worse, there is no conviction behind their thinking.